Two favorite yarns are featured in this week’s pattern: a perennial favorite, Fresco, and a newcomer, Vail. Both yarns are yummy and such a joy to work with. Fresco has a magnificent colorful palette  so many amazing choices! And by contrast, Vail comes only in natural, undyed colorways  so the range is limited to the colors of the beautiful animals whose fleece is used to produce this fine, soft yarn. The large shawl is a great way to enjoy working with either of these fiber blends, and what a wonderful finished product you’ll have to wrap yourself in when the weather turns chilly. Enjoy!

Like its namesake, Vail is pure luxury; unlike its namesake, it won’t cost you a fortune!

A light fingering weight yarn designed to be used for garments and accessories, Vail is 70% baby alpaca and 30% bamboo. The bamboo gives it the most delicate luster and drape, while the alpaca contributes an ethereal softness.

Fresco is a smooth and even 3-ply sport weight yarn. The plies are twisted together tightly enough to make a firm, springy yarn, but not so tightly that the yarn loses its lofty, soft hand. The fiber blendwool (for warmth and strength), alpaca (for loft and sheen), and a bit of angora (to provide a soft halo)makes a yarn that’s warm, soft, and slightly fuzzy.

Fresco is available in an expansive palette, which makes it great for colorwork projects. However, because of the ply, the yarn is also great for textured stitches and lace.

Also from Classic Elite Yarns

Panache is a new booklet of patterns for Fall 2011 with a unique concept, one that ties in perfectly with this week's "double" Web-Letter pattern. Panache features four designs, each shown in two or three different yarns. The five yarns featured in the booklet, Pirouette, Vail, Alpaca Sox, Soft Linen, and Silky Alpaca Lace, represent a wide spectrum of fibers and gauges, but all lend themselves to beautiful openwork and soft, wearable accessories.

Pictured clockwise, beginning on the top left, Grace is a triangular shawl with a ruffled edge in Vail or Pirouette, Zest is a garter stitch and ruffled scarf knit on the bias in rectangular and triangular versions in Vail, Alpaca Sox, or Silky Alpaca Lace, Glamour is a lace stitch scarf worked side to side in Vail, Pirouette or Soft Linen, and Flair is an eyelet lace scarf or wrap in Vail, Silky Alpaca Lace or Pirouette.